#magi risk

[mothtowers]

true love

[minart-was-taken]

The amount of fear and excitement I have for this movie is troubling...

[transmasc-rose]

One more AU to propose: at the end of Brotherhood, taking ac3's declaration of how the Apple works as fact, Desmond sees the satellite not working, sees Abstergo failing--and rather than kill Lucy, either manages to turn and kill no one (unlikely, given Juno's influence) or ends up stabbing Shaun and/or Rebecca instead, with the idea that maybe, if he talked to the Templars, he could make them understand, that their plan is flawed, that they need to try something else--

Because if the Templars, in all their money and planning and resources are failing, how could the Assassins succeed?

(This would royally piss off Juno.)

I don't think this would go well. I think, even if he and Lucy succeeded, made the Templars change plans, and that worked, the result would be bittersweet at best. A lot of people dead or under their control, with the Assassins being in an even worse state. Power granted to the Templars that make them rise even higher.

There's a good chance they don't succeed at all.

But he'll never know if things would go better if he'd chosen the other path.

(Maybe there's a world where he does convince the Assassins and Templars to work together on this. But that's a much kinder world than the games see fit to give him. So that is out of his grasp.)

[sunny-salamander]

Since it's probably gonna be a while before I post anything for it, I do wanna talk about this one AU idea that I have for Pandora's Box that I absolutely adore but won't be following through with in Pandora's Box. I call it 'Magi Prince' AU.

Spoilers for chapter 4 and possibly later parts of Crafting Pandora's Box below.

The long and short of it is that Hanako gets outed as a Magi while recovering from the car crash from Chapter 4. The dumbasses end up attacking her at the hospital and, in her panic, she takes Makoto and Komaru and flees back to the Shizuoka Tribe.

Something that I've alluded to but haven't fully expanded on for the Magi is that a lot of their culture has been lost over time. The Magi once had this huge global civilization roughly ~35,000 years ago that imploded upon itself. When it did, it resulted in the formation of several Magi Tribes across the globe, each of which developed different ideas of what that culture was like based on the fragments their ancestors thought to preserve. Couple this with extremely long lives (700 to 1000 years on average) and the few technology they salvaged, and you get the modern day Magi Tribes basically worshiping the ancient Magi Civilization.

The thing is, since they're only method to replace the Magi population is to find a human with an Amorphous Ultimate Talent and change them into a Magi, the Magi population has been on the decline for thousands of years. People who knew critical information began to die out before they could pass it on and tribes weren't getting new blood often enough to replenish their population. They lived long lives, but that meant nothing if a Magi was killed well before their time due to a human mob, or an accident, or an infection, or any other number of things. Tribes began to dissolve, with some Magi choosing to isolate themselves far out of human reach whereas others delved head first into learning how to blend in with humans.

This results in a situation where the Magi are losing very critical information about their original culture... such as their language. And Magian is the only language capable of spellwork in the Magi!AU.

This makes Hanako's knowledge and the notes her Teacher took while traveling the world - of Magian history, language, original culture, etc. - extremely valuable to the tribes that still exist. It's a very powerful bargaining chip for them.

So when Hanako returns to the Shizuoka tribe and is captured, that's what she uses to secure a safe place for her children to grow up. Because she knows what it's like to live in the wilderness; that's not something she wants for Makoto or Komaru, especially with human technology's recent rampant leaps. Raising them in isolation would be damning Makoto to never fitting in to any culture and depriving Komaru of that 'human' connection. She needs a compromise that will give them social skills and general knowledge of the world but also keep them away from the people now hunting them.

This means Makoto and Komaru are raised in Magian rather than Human and have been effectively home-schooled for the next eight to ten years of their lives. They've never stepped foot in a high school once in all that time.

It makes things very, very awkward for Hope's Peak Academy when they draw Makoto Naegi's name for the 78th class's Super High School Level Lucky Student and realizes the boy has been missing for almost a decade.

[wordsmusicandstories]

🎶Journey of the Magi🎶 (Frank Turner)

….. Balthazar rode for seven long years, eastwards and far,he followed his star, and it brought him here.To a stable in ruins in some backwater town,to a virgin defiled, no king but a child, too small for a crown. He sang  “I could have lived with my Gods as a Persian prince,I could’ve played safe,but in the end the journey’s brought joys that outweigh the pain.” Paupers and kings, princes and…

[vigilskeep]

various and sundry artbook tidbits i found interesting (SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE VEILGUARD ARTBOOK. obviously)

faction & location stuff:

a sketch page from the very early days exploring shape languages for factions like elves, dwarves, wardens, the necropolis, tevinter, and rivain, also includes concepts for the mages’ college and the ben-hassrath

early rivain concept arts have npcs with a similar armour patterning to duncan’s, suggesting it’s a mark of his rivaini heritage like i always thought!

the depiction of the ““creation story”” suggests elves were mimicking the bodies of dwarves when they formed their own, not humans like i think mythal says in game flashbacks, which would make more sense timeline wise

there’s concept art of the city of ventus, which i believe is of particular relevance to mercar players? it’s right on the border of arlathan forest, and surrounded by magical statues holding out raised hands forming a ward along the tree line to keep it from encroaching

the home base was going to be a lovable fixer-upper of a ship given to us by isabela, named the dumat. this didn’t fit the spy theme they were originally going for, so they tried really really hard to make it a submarine without feeling anachronistic by making it sort of sea monster shaped. there are a lot of cutaways and schematics. they were going to give it a mystery engine that you would get light fetch quests to feed random objects: ��ten dried lavender flowers, five quail’s eggs, three brass belt buckles, etc.....” the submarine then turned into an undersea mansion on the back of some giant shambling sea creature you would never get a good look at

later on there were some funny takes on the lighthouse specifically, like bringing back the sea creature theme to put it on the back of an interdimensional veil whale, or having it be the true location of the black emporium with a collection of eluvians that xenon the antiquarian lets you use

there’s a tiny concept art for a “high-speed aravel chase” in a canyon like a western

tevinter gladiators are mentioned a couple times. we WEREEE going to get to see the minrathous proving grounds :( there’s also a dwarven embassy concept art somebody take me out back and shoot me

there are a lot of ghilan’nain creature designs that didn’t make it into the game which is a shame but i can see why they would have been resource heavy

the antiva concept arts are so gorgeous. a lot of it got through! and definitely the overall Vibe made it. at some point it seems to have been antiva city itself; they don’t call it treviso and they mention the circle of magi as a major landmark

“The entrance to the Necropolis is like an inverted Tower of Babel. They seek knowledge in the grave instead of heaven.” <- this just rules as a line

for arlathan: “To differentiate it from previous forest and jungle locations in Dragon Age, we went with an autumnal colour palette. It has the benefit to feeling ominously like the end.”

the veil jumpers have a “skull halla” symbol that “implies their willingness to risk death”. did that end up in the game?

“With each faction, we explored a range of aspirational fantasies. For the Wardens, this ranged from knights in shining armour to butal tanks to a Nietzche quote: ‘Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.’”

there’s this concept among the warden armours for an insane orlesian noblewoman look with the winter palace morrigan corset and a piled high wig, but the skirts torn knee length and a serrated fan in hand. i’m kind of obsessed

“To bring more life to the world, we thought about what industries would keep the Anderfels afloat. We took the prominent Warden blue colour and envisioned an industry harvesting flowers, creating dye, and then weaving copious amounts of blue fabric.” this is probably where the flower quests in the hossberg wetlands started off conceptually? v cute

character stuff:

in completely different early versions of the game, solas had a “bad cop” right hand woman called reva

imshael the desire demon/choice spirit from the masked empire and inquisition was going to be a two-handed weapon warrior companion, and also sexualised now while in largely feminine form, which would have been a Choice. there is one art of him in masculine form, also sexy but still not showing as much skin as the feminine one

as i said, neve was going to be calpernia

taash was a rogue. (they’re still a light-armoured dual wielder so that checks out.) it seems like davrin was briefly a mage. at some points harding seems to have inherited bianca

saarbrak, another qunari companion, seems to have lastest the longest of the abandoned concepts. he’s the only non-canon one who got as far as having a place for him sketched into designs of the lighthouse: “saarbrak’s planning room”. mentions and sightings of what might be him are sporadic and i think you only see his name on that sketch, but i’m connecting it to the description “a potential qunari companion evolved from saarebas to dapper qunari spy, offering a deeper look into qunari culture”

the embroidery on harding’s clothes is how she passes the time while “waiting for days in a sniper perch” on missions. i just thought that was cute

[just-homura-things]

"Can you accept the risks and responsibilities?"

— Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht Rising

[livingbedroomframe]

⋆⁺₊❅. Confession from a person of the same sex ⋆⁺₊❅.

⋆˚࿔ Itoshi Rin 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

I think we see the worst of this guy because of the place he’s in, but in a normal setting he would be like any other awkward teenager his age.

I don’t see him ever being interested in a romantic relationship, he’s really focused on his football career, but he also wouldn’t be a dick for no reasons. I’ll repeat, ik he’s kinda nasty in blue lock, but in school he looked pretty okay. He was a bit weird when he was in kindergarten, but who wasn’t?

He would be caught by surprise by the confession, he isn’t the most emotional intelligent guy and also pretty awkward, so he would just stare at the poor guy trembling with anxiousness because he genuinely doesn’t know what to say nor react. After the long awkward pause, he would regain his composure and reject the guy with a rushed “I don’t have time to date.” cause he’s also anxious and wants to get out of the situation.

I also believe he wouldn’t mind being confessed to by a guy, he just doesn’t care for romance of any kind.

⋆˚࿔ Oliver Aiku 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

His cheating ass would make the guy that confessed his next victim.

It’s implied that he’s bisexual, so gender is not a problem. Him meeting in a karaoke with multiple dates and saying “let’s all play together” is the problem.

After being confessed to, he would move quickly: invite the guy out on a date even if he doesn’t feel any romantic attraction to him, lead him on until he gets tired, leave him and find someone else. Or cheat on him and find someone else. My guy is a proud hoe lol, I still can’t believe he placed third on “best gentleman” in the Egoist Bible.

The guy who confessed to him would end up on Reddit/AITA writing about his experience like: “Am I the asshole from getting together with the guy my boyfriend was cheating on me? (the other guy also believed he was the only boyfriend cheater had)”.

In conclusion, I strongly believe he is bisexual and would love to receive confession by men.

⋆˚࿔ Ikki Niko 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

The Egoist Bible says his favorite manga is Banana Fish and his favorite anime is Puebla Magi Madoka Magica. He’s truly a doomed yuri/yaoi enjoyer. He would LOVE alien stage.

Anyway, Niko canonically spends his free time binge watching anime, is an introvert, he’s the least aggressive in terms of romance and was bullied because of his bangs. He would not get a confession.

But, in the case he received one, there’s two possible outcomes.

If the guy confessing is someone he doesn’t know well (like an hallway crush or a simple classmate), he would say “Is this a prank?”/“Did they make you do this as a dare?”. On the other hand, if he’s one of his close friends, there’s many aspect to take in consideration.

The Egoist Bible says ”His strength is his cautiousness. His weakness is his cowardice.”. Being in a gay relationship in Japan, a conservative country, takes a lot of courage even if you’re dating in secret. However, it does say his greatest strength is being cautious, so hopefully they wouldn’t get caught. Alas, with a football career in the making, I don’t think he would take such a big risk and put in jeopardy all his hard work.

Overall, I don’t see him ever accepting a guy’s confession, even if the feeling was mutual, because of social pressure and his cowardly trait.

Now, would he be disgusted if a man confessed to him? No, he wouldn’t. Taking in consideration his favorites manga and anime have heavy undertones of queer symbolism and he’s pretty chill outside of blue lock, he would reject the guy in a polite manner and move on with his life.

Do I think Niko is queer? Maybe, but this is discourse for another post.

⋆˚࿔ Hyoma Chigiri 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

A guy could give him the most heartfelt, romantic and sweet love confession after school behind the school gate like every shoujo manga ever and he would answer with “You know I’m a guy right?” or he would laugh and ask “You joking, right?”. Cue the guy running away in tears and Chigiri realizing he was actually serious.

I’m kidding! He’s good at reading the mood in the manga and, after surpassing the fear of his ACL, he’s supportive to his friends. Generally Chigiri is an easygoing/mellow guy, as the Blue Lock wiki describes him. Apart from some sassy remark, he’s still a moody teenager after all, I don’t think he would say something so mean to someone in a normal setting.

Mind you, he would still reject the guy for two main reasons:

1. I don’t think he’s queer. “But look at the way he dresses!!” “Look how feminine he is!” I’m sorry to inform you, neither of this things make a person queer.

(Do I still headcanon him as bi? Yes, but I’m trying to be realistic for this headcanon).

2. Chigiri would think the guy confessed just because he “resembles” a girl. I don’t think he would ever phantom a man being with him because he also is a boy and not because of his femininity.

But!! If Chigiri was confessed to by another guy in Blue Lock, I think he would say that. That place brings the worst out of every single one of them.

[thequietkid-moonie]

Can I’m have a romantic scenario for madoka sayaka mami and homura x reader who loves cute things use cute clothes and have a bunny plushie with them all the time and they wish was to be the most cutest most adorable person of the whole universe they use a very cute magical attire and they weapon is a cute bunny staff but unfortunately they turn into a witch they labyrinth familiars even the witch themselves are extremely adorable even had a familiars that looks extremely look like the girls somehow the witch still remember the girls and hug them tighly to let them know reader is still there it remembers them and still loves them headcanons please

Cute S/O still remember them

[ SCENARIO ] [ Madoka, Mami, Homura ]

[ Puella Magi Madoka Magica ]

⚠️ This contain a spoilers

I loved your idea with all my being!!!! Waaaahhh!!! Is so cute and sad and beautiful and angsty and perfect!!! I love iiiiiiit thanks for requesting it <333

Although I wasn't able to think on the scenario for Sayaka, sorry

Madoka Kaname

Madoka and you has always being seen as really sweet and cute couple, Madoka is quite gentle and your own cuteness makes a match way too sweet, the inconditional love was evident, loved or hated by others but that doesn't matter, what matter is that you two have each other

Most of the time Madoka and you go matching even without trying, unconsciously Madoka follows your adorable way to dress, besides her family adores you so obviously her mother would encourage her to match with you! You two even have little matching keychains bunnies (thanks to you)

You two are not only together in the good times but also in the bad times. That one time where you two accidentally end up trapped in a witch labryth just to be followed by Mami you two were together, or when you two decided to carry this burden with your friend and become a magical girl despite knowing the risk you two were together too

You two fight together and comfort each other for the burden, you were always there to cheer her up by finding something positive, like those cute outfit you two wear as magical girls, or how cute Kubey can be, talking about how it reminded you a bunny or even talking to Mami about how you feel about being a magical girl who protect others in the shadows

But as much as all of you wanted to stay positive and enjoy the beautiful ignorance and magic of the situation that wouldn't change your fate, soon or later the burden became heavier and heavier, and, as much as you wanted to tell yourself that as long as you and Madoka were together you would be fine nothing would stop your soul gem to slowly get corrupted, painted in dark tones and turbulent appearance, until no matter what you did you couldn't stop your heart and mind beconsumed by the sorrow, sadness and despair. It took quite a while from the moment your soul gem exploded, to the moment you were reborn in a new body, surrounded by your a labryth that was full of the beautiful and cuteness you used to love, painted by the despair and regret

After hearing the true fate of a magical girl Madoka couldn't think on anything else aside from wanting to save you, getting inside of your new labryth to search for you and try to save you, and, honestly, being there was tortuous, the place was full of colors, all the familiares were quite cute and most of them looked like bunnies, just what you always loved, and that hurt her more, despite your new form you were still you

When Madoka reached the place where the witch was she was quickly greeted by the attack of the familiars, instinctively attacking like any other witch, but that didn't stoped her, Madoka was determinated to bring you back so she started to talk to you as loud as she can, not even trying to defend herself and just dodging the familiars, getting as close as the witch as posible and begging for you to react, what at the end happened, even when your mind was corrupted and full of despair deep down you could still reconize that voice, that person, that little ray of hope that helped you so much in the past

Even with that new form you could still look at her with love trying to reach her and hold her close like you used to do, it was obvious that you were responding to her but only to her, any other magical girl present were attacked, but not her, and even when that made her immensely happy that wasn't enough, your soul gem has become a seed of grief, your human form has being destroyed to born in a new one, there is no turning back now, and, sadly, is Madoka who has to put an end to your new form because it is her duty to eradicate witches

Mami Tomoe

Mami has being carrying a heavy weight ever since she lost everything and became a magical girl, she has being trying really hard to stay composed and calm, even when deep down she is really hurt and anxious about everything having you at her side it has being like a ray of hope for her

Mami is completely in love with you, honestly, even if you dont know it you have done so much for her that she can't even count, your only presence is already comforting but your completely adorable personality is always refreshing for her, everytime you do something cute (wich happens quite often) it gives Mami the opportunity to relax at least for a moment and just enjoy the moment of peace

Mami loves so much your cuteness that she is constantly teasing you and complimenting you, she is always seen with a smile in her lips whenever you are around, even if she constantly teases you she is completely respectful of you, if you ever give her a gift as cute as you she will keep it as one of her more precious treasures

Honestly, the moment you decided to become a magical girl and fight at her side she felt incredibly happy, and yet it took a moment to ask you if you are sure, if you have considerate the aftermath of your desition, even so the moment you finally make the deal with Kubey and first transform Mami wasn't able to hide her happiness

Although, even if you can fight and learn together to be stronger she is still quite protective over you, you being her closest person and the one she loves added to your cuteness it triggers a protective instict on her, wanting to make sure that you are always safe

But even when she was trying to focus on your and her safety and duty Mami couldn't stop the innocent happiness that filled her heart, feeling so proud of you whenever you improved on your fighting style and whenever you manage to take down witches together, her nightmare quickly became a dream, living happily in the lovely ignorance and just enjoying the time and your company when you two still can

Unfortunaly, the dream soon had to came to a end, leaving behind the cruel reality you two were ignorant of, when you didn't manage to get a seed of grief in time to prevent yourself from getting consumed by the inmense despair and sadness as your soul gem got corrupted

Even so, Mami was still in the ignorance, trying really hard to convince herself that your disappearance was because, somehow, you fell in the trap of a witch, getting the labyrinth as soon as posible and running around searching for you, attacking any familiar that came in her way before even a second glance

It took her quite a while to finally notice the fact that the labryth, unlike other labryths, has a quite adorable and pleseant aspect, decorated with bunnies figures all around, something that you probably would enjoy to see, and yet Mami quickly brush off the thought, her mind was already a mess and in a rush, she didn't needed more distraction nor confusion

By the moment Mami reached the witch she was imediatly attacking, not even thinking twice before doing it, her mind was too busy worring about you that she wasn't even able to notice you until by a mistake from her she was captured by the wich, feeling completely anxious and even in shock it took way too long from her to notice that the wich didn't attacked, more like just embracing her, something that felt odly familiar, the thought of you being this thing passed throught her mind just a second and was enough to snap her back and finish her job, too scared of the posibility

Quickly destroying the witch and still without being able to found you she was soon confronted by the cruel truth that Kubey has being hidding from her, that confirmation of that idea that lead her to kill you, and that now it was killing her from the inside

Akemi Homura

Homura's healthy problems have lead her to have dificulties to have a normal life, thanks to that she has become to be shy and with a bad self-seem, she has never being good at anything and yet she managed to date a really adorable and almost angelical partner, she doesn't know how and sometimes she feels undeserving but she is greatful nontheless

Your cuteness is most of the time overwhelming for Homura, but not in a bad way, is just that she sees herself as plain and you are the other extreme around, she doesn't know how someone so beautiful and adorable like you could even notice her and yet everytime you do as much as stand close to her it feels so comforting and even it feels so right that she can't help but let aside her worries for once

You have always being with her, in the good and in the bads, always cheering her up and comforting her when she needed it, and as much as she appreciate she can't help but feel more and more frustrated for not being able to do for you what you do for her, even the moment you two met Kubey she was pretty anxious about it

The moment you finally accepted make the deal with Kubey to become a magical girl hit Homura hard, once again she was being left behind for her cowardice, while she was too scare to make the contract you were already training with your new friends to become a good magical girl, but thats the moment she decided that she wont be a coward anymore, even if she wasn't going to accept the deal with Kubey she would be at your side, doing her best to help you out

Comforting, hearing you vent, being there to cheer you up and even trying to help you find a way around the labryths, Homura tried everything she could do to help you, trying really hard to overcome her anxiety to at least just be there for you, and even when it helped for a while at the end it wasn't enough to fight against the despair that comes with being a magical girl, no matter what she did nothing will save you from your fate

She was there when it happened, last time she saw you was before your soul gem exploted and you disappeared, she tried to explain the situation to your other friends but not even her knew what was happening

Completely scare and worried she got inside of the labyrinth with the others to try to search for you, doing her best to dont just be a nuisance to them nor being reckless, looking carefully around to dont get into danger by accident is when she noticed how familiar the labryth it was, everyhing somehow looked so familiar and somehow comforting too, everything was so cute, so adorable, just like you

Homura felt like going crazy by just seeing it, it was a cruel joke of destiny? maybe life was making fun of her for being so coward, and yet everything became more and more strange as she go closer to the witch, all the familiar were attacking everyone, except for her maybe it was because she wasn't a magical girl or maybe it was just a trap since the familiars seem to be wanting to take her away, as scare as she felt she was still intriged

Everything become even more strange when she found the witch, the familiars around and even the witch were trying to take Homura to them, at first was an attack but quickly became like a silent beg, once the witch had her finally tapped in their embrace it was when both can have a better look of each other, and, as crazy at it sounded, Homura knew this one was you, not knowing why nor how but she was sure it was you, and then is when she felt her entire world crashed down, you were now a witch and she was still the same coward, even in this new form you were trying to keep her close and protect her like always while she was cowering and fearing, but not more, just like before, even with your new form you managed to comfort her and reasure her, this was what finally make her decide to make a deal to Kubey, one that will assure that you will be the real you again

[vavoom-sorted-art]

SURPRISE! Of Kings and Kids - Bonus Chapter!

Neither @gaiaseyes451 nor I could get enough of this story, so here we are, wrapping up some loose ends and reflecting a bit about the events that went down, along with 5! juicy illustrations in this chapter! Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

*~*~*

Crowley sighed and softened his tone, beseeching him to understand. “Aziraphale, there wasn’t even a real choice here.” He continued to wear tight circles into the grass. “There was no plausible world where you chose the innocents over the Messiah. Hundreds of lives over, eventually, billions? I know you, making that decision would eat at you,” but I’m a demon, I condemn souls regularly. “Even if it was the right choice by Heaven’s standards, there wasn’t a good choice.” So I took the difficult part, so you wouldn’t have to hold the guilt. “I think this is as close to ineffable as you get.”

“That’s deceitful! You came to me under false pretenses!”

Crowley stopped abruptly. “Oh come on, do you really believe that?” Aziraphale’s fists clenched when Crowley spat the words at him.  

“We’ve been working together –” Crowley paused, fluttering his hands in a vague circular motion between the two of them, looking for the right term for this. “Well, not together but, but with each other-”

“Around each other.” Aziraphale was scowling, but couldn’t help but interject. “Orbiting one another, in a way.”

“Yes, exactly!” Crowley strode toward him, “we’ve been orbiting one another for millennia and you still don’t trust me?” He made no effort to disguise his incredulity. “For Satan’s sake, Aziraphale, I helped you with your Messiah. I got a Satan forsaken commendation for the massacre of children and I haven’t said shit about it to keep it a secret- to-!” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s just like you spying on me with the magi. I understand, Aziraphale, I know what I am, but what more can I do to prove you can trust me?” He threw his arms out wide and dropped down onto the boulder, exasperated.

Across from him, Aziraphale seemed to be wrestling with his thoughts. “A commendation? Hell gave you a commendation for the massacre?” Crowley kept silent and listened as Aziraphale stammered half-formed thoughts.  “I know – even Hell must know how you are with children – you would never – why would they….” 

Understanding crept across Aziraphale’s face and he refocused his eyes on Crowley. “They suspected,” he whispered, his anger smothered by the weight of the risk Crowley had taken. 

Crowley made no reply, keeping his eyes stubbornly focused on the fields. Aziraphale sat on the boulder next to him. As Crowley stared at nothing he could feel Aziraphale’s eyes on him, after a few moments a timid question broke the silence.

“Did you use any miracles on the magi, that night?”

Crowley jerked his head to look at Aziraphale. He had expected any number of questions about what Hell had wanted to know, why he’d accepted the commendation, maybe even a bit of sympathy. The question about the magi, about his methods was deeply personal, an unspoken boundary. “...What?”

Aziraphale, to his credit, didn’t look away. “Just answer the question, please.” Crowley narrowed his eyes behind the lenses. Aziraphale had never been present to witness Crowley at work, at least as far as he knew. While he did take a certain amount of pride in his skills he didn’t like talking about them – especially with Aziraphale – but now he didn’t feel he had a choice. Well, here we go.

Read full Chapter

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Thanks for reading! Signing off!

and thanks to @goodomensafterdark for the support!

[cosmichorrorsarestillnicerthanme]

Stargazing-Ishtar X Reader

Happy Halloween!

It was the night of Halloween at The Clocktower. A night of celebration, ill thought out schemes, and the teachers eyeing their bags of candy set aside for when the night came to a close and all those dressed as ghouls and goblins filtered out.

Now, if only you were among those filtering out and about on the closest thing there is to a worldwide holiday in the world of Magi.

Instead, you were standing in one of the auditoriums used to teach the importance of proper alignment, depiction, and drawing of magical circles, having been badgered by your friends and associates into this hairbrained endeavor.

All because they learned you were studying systems of summoning in different magical systems in the European continent.

Yes, the name needed some work, but that could be left until later.

What could not be left until later, was you having to keep whacking your associates over the head any time they tried to touch the tome in your hand.

“C’mon! It can’t be that dangerous!” one of the many onlookers cried.

You ignored them in favor of ensuring that this was not screwed up and you didn’t accidentally summon some form of ultimate evil into the world.

…Again.

That aside, everything was almost ready, all you needed to do now was to add the final line.

The sound of your chalk scratching into the coarse material of the ground that had been infused with countless summoning attempts and experiments echoed in your ears.

With that, the complete symbol of Ishtar was inscribed upon the ground, with a few cautionary measures of course..

Everything was ready, all the precautions had been taken, not a single thing had been unaccounted for in your calculation and preparation.

Nothing was left to be done, save for the incantation.

You walked over towards the head of the room, the page of your tome being turned to the page that held the proper incantation.

A heavy breath left your mouth as you turned around, your circuits beginning to burn and thrum with power under your skin as you raised your hand towards the circle and began to chant.

“Spirit of Venus, Remember!”

The temperature dropped as the words left your mouth and ice began to form over the windows.

“ISHTAR, Mistress of the Gods, Remember!”

The circle began to glow with golden light as your audience started to grow fearful.

You couldn’t blame them, this wasn’t supposed to be what happened.

Had they underestimated the seriousness of all this?

Did you mess up on the sign?

“ISHTAR, Queen of the Land of the Rising of the Sun, Remember!”

The temperature dropped even further as a hole in the world appeared before you and, without warning, a vacuum formed.

You were getting worried now, but you had to keep going unless you wished to run the risk of something truly horrible occuring.

“Lady of Ladies, Goddess of Goddesses, ISHTAR, Queen of all People, Remember!”

The hole grew bigger and the vacuum grew more powerful as fearful screams filled the auditorium.

You felt your body getting pulled towards the hole, splitting your focus between keeping the ritual moving and not being pulled into the void.

“O Bright Rising, Torch of the Heaven and of the Earth, Remember!

O Destroyer of the Hostile Hordes, Remember!

Lioness, Queen of the Battle, Hearken and Remember!”

The hole continued to grow as your audience fled, pushing and trampling over one another to escape.

You wished you could join them.

This was nothing like anything you had tried before.

“From the Gate of the Great God NEBO, I call Thee!”

Pinpricks of light ignited in the void of the hole as the gate began to open.

“By the Name which I was given on the Sphere of NEBO, I call to Thee! Lady, Queen of Harlots and of Soldiers, I call to Thee!”

Light and color exploded within the gate as nebulae formed and a perfect look into the distant cosmos sat before you.

“Lady, Mistress of Battle and of Love, I pray Thee, Remember!

In the Name of the Covenant, sworn between Thee and the Race of Men,

I call to Thee! Hearken and Remember!”

A light began to form directly before the open gate, slowly morphing and attempting to take shape.

“Suppressor of the Mountains!

Supporter of arms!

Deity of Men! Goddess of Women! Where Thou gazest, the Dead live!”

The form began to grow more defined, more real, as the form of a woman made of light reached forwards and towards you, her hand piercing the veil.

“ISHTAR, Queen of Night, Open Thy Gate to me!

ISHTAR, Lady of the Battle, Open wide Thy Gate!”

Her form slowly came towards you, reaching outwards as it turned from light and into something real.

“ISHTAR, Sword of the People, Open Thy Gate to me!

ISHTAR, Lady of the Gift of Love, Open wide Thy Gate!

Gate of the Gentle Planet, LIBAT, Open unto me!”

Her hand was barely a step away as she reached towards you, her body becoming flesh and her eyes looking directly into yours.

Your vision was growing dark, you could feel your body grow weak from fighting against the vacuum, but you still had to continue the ritual, no matter how much your body and mind was screaming at you to stop, even when the hardest part was coming up.

Especially because the hardest part was coming up.

“IA GUSHE-YA! IA INANNA! IA ERNINNI-YA!

ASHTA PA MABACHA CHA KUR ENNI-YA!

RABBMI LO-YAK ZI ISHTARI KANPA!

INANNA ZI AMMA KANPA! BI ZAMMA KANPA!

IA IA IA BE-YI RAZULUKI!”

The final word escaped your lips, and the woman was fully formed before you, floating in the air as the hole in the world closed shut.

The woman had eyes like rubies, hair like onyx, and a smile more brilliant than diamonds.

She was beautiful, she would easily fit into any definition of beauty in the world.

Then, as she looked into your eyes, she spoke.

You could barely hear her, the entire world sounding like it was under water.

However, you could still faintly hear her.

“Are You My Master?”

After that, everything went black.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

You groaned as you opened your eyes, the harsh light of the infirmary burning your retinas, forcing your eyes closed once more.

Your entire body ached in a way and in places you didn't know could even ache like that.

Not to mention your circuits, which you could tell you had overworked due to the feeling of intense, burning agony under your skin.

“Are you alive?” the voice of Lord El Melioi asked you.

“Not sure… try again later…” you groaned as you turned onto your side, briefly opening your eyes to see the woman from the cosmos, looking quite irate in some second hand clothes kept by the doctors and nurses in the case of an experiment turning… incendiary.

You blinked several times before turning over once more and towards Lord El Melioi who was currently chewing on a piece of gum in place of his cigarette.

“So, all that happened?” you asked.

“Correct.” the man responded with a pathetic attempt to keep his irritated expression in check.

“So… how screwed am I?” you asked.

“Royally, if it wasn’t for some extenuating circumstances.” the man responded.

“Hmm.” was all you said in response.

“So, who’s the lady?” you asked.

“I am RIGHT here!” the woman exclaimed in irritation.

“We do not know, but she claims to be the goddess Ishtar.” the old man answered.

“BECAUSE I AM!!!”

“We lack the evidence to prove her claim.” The Lord El Melioi declared.

“I will vaporize you, mark my words!” the woman who claimed to be Ishtar nearly shouted.

“I can see why that would be a bit hard to confirm…” you muttered as you turned onto your back.

“Seeing as if the woman’s claims are true-” the man began before being interrupted.

“THEY ARE!!!” the woman who claimed to be Ishtar whined.

“-It would mean that you dug up the bones of a goddess on Halloween night.”

You let out a groan.

“This is going to have massive repercussions, isn’t it?” you asked as you closed your eyes.

“Most definitely.” was all Lord El Melioi said in response.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

You stumbled into your room and fell face first onto your bed, the woman who insisted upon being called Ishtar walking right behind you as you did so before making a bee-line to your closet and throwing it open.

“These are all your clothes?” Ishtar asked, flabbergasted.

“Yes.” You groaned into the bed.

“It’s the same outfit four different times!” Ishtar cried, abhorred.

“Exactly.” you said in response.

“This just will not do!” Ishtar exclaimed before walking over to you and peeling you off the bed to grab you by the collar.

“I REFUSE to have my spouse dress like some common cretin!” the woman cried.

“I don’t recall signing any marriage papers.” was all you said in response as your head lolled to the side.

“IT WAS IMPLIED IN THE SUMMONING!!!” Ishtar shouted.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It has been a year since you got a surprise wife on Halloween night.

She was a bossy, bullheaded, prideful, and big headed woman who had an ego the size of a galaxy.

You wouldn’t have her any other way.

Sure, she had a habit of threatening anyone who got too close to you with disintegration, but that is par for the course when in a relationship with a Goddess.

That said, she was still trying to get you to wear more “Appropriate Clothes For Your Station”.

She had continuously failed time and time again.

It was one of the many little games the two of you played.

Much like how Ishtar floated around you and took out whatever “Tax” she wished from any food you purchased.

Or how you, upon finding out she was ticklish, mercilessly attacked her every time she let down her guard.

The two of you were insufferable together, and you were frequently told so.

In all honesty, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ishtar might have the looks of a woman people would go to war for, but her personality was absolutely horrible, in a charming and adorable way.

And though you would never tell her for fear of her head getting so big it pops, you wouldn’t have her any other way.

As you continued to muse on Ishtar and the events of the previous year, a finger began to poke you in the side.

You ignored the sensation for a few moments longer, until a petulant whine cut through the silence and you were attacked by the arms of a woman wrapping around you like snakes and her body falling onto yours as you sat in your chair.

“Oh, hello Ishtar.” you muttered as you continued to gaze out at the starry night.

“You know, a girl could get really jealous if someone was looking at something else that wasn’t her.” Ishtar not so subtly hinted at as she tried to gently force you to look at her.

“What do you mean? I am looking at you! After all, these are the same stars as the night we met. Though, I have to admit that I didn’t pay much attention to them at the time.” You retorted with a soft smile on your face as you adjusted yourself and Ishtar to better ensure comfort.

Ishtar let out a laugh as she turned her eyes to look at the stars as well.

“I never took you as the reminiscing type.” the goddess muttered with a smile.

“I never took the Goddess Ishtar to be one to enjoy scooters. It seems we are both full of surprises.” You jabbed at her.

“You’re horrible!” Ishtar bemoaned with crocodile tears in her eyes.

“No worse than you dear, no worse than you.” was all you said in response as the two of you fell into a comfortable silence, gazing at the stars.

[shewolfofvilnius]

NEW DRAGON AGE HEADCANON

Overuse of any form of potion or tonic that conveys a magical status or effect by pregnant or nursing mothers in Thedas results in a minor increased % chance of the child becoming a mage even if no magic was present in the family. Most potions have difficulty passing the placental barrier so the chance is minute (from 1 in 10000 to ~1 in 9,950 of a mage child where no parents or grandparents are magi).

For nursing mothers (or wetnurses under the influence of potions) the risk goes up somewhat depending on potion time and time since consumption, and has been known to increase chances of a mage child to as high as 1 in 9000. The short term effects of that potion have also been known to manifest in the feeding infant; those nursing are advised to avoid potions such as "Rock Armor".

Affluent soporati families in Tevinter have been known to hire wetnurses (often servants or even slaves) and pumped them full of potions in an attempt to increase the chances of their child being born a mage, such is the preference for mage children in Tevinter society.

(i once came up with a fascinating headcanon for healing potions + tieflings in BG3/D&D. This is not new for me)

[tragic-ships-tournament]

Tragic Ships Tournament Round 1

Propaganda under the cut!

Madohomu:

"Sweetest girls in the whole world doomed by Madoka being really sweet and trusting (and also her desire to be a cute magical girl). Homura is fighting so hard to protect her because she thinks she's cute or whatever."

Eruri:

"Power couple! Commander x his right hand man. Crazy x Even crazier but better at hiding it. Levi can sense the tragedy coming on the night before they leave for the big battle and in true tsundere fashion, threatens to break Erwin's legs so he has to stay home and not risk his life. Both of them put each other before themselves. Levi thinks Erwin's mind is what can save humanity, while Erwin fully trusts in Levi's power, both thinking of themselves as more disposable than the other. The subtle shine in Levi's eyes everytime he has to make a decision regarding Erwin's death makes it look like he's tearing up and about to break his "cool guy" facade (and it breaks ME TOO!!!). After Erwin's death, Levi is so focused on killing the goddamn monkey that I thought he wouldn't mind if he himself died along with him, all because he promised to take it down for Erwin. I am in pain thinking about them."

[daitranscripts]

Vivienne: Deleted Dialogue

Miscellaneous

Vivienne Masterpost

—

After IYHSB

Vivienne: There. Much better.

—

Favors the First Enchanter

Vivienne: I’ve heard rumors of lost Circle tomes being found. Care to investigate?

Vivienne: Our information suggests the tomes are in the Ferelden Hinterlands.

Vivienne: We believe they’ve been taken to the Dales.

Vivienne: We suspect they’ve been taken to the Western Approach.

Vivienne: Rumor has it they’re in the Nahashin Marshes. The conditions will be dreadful for delicate old books.

Vivienne: I’ll send my information to the war room.

Vivienne: We’ve located a templar vault containing the phylacteries of Circle mages. Vivienne: My sources have found another stockpile of phylacteries.

Vivienne: It’s in the Ferelden Hinterlands, in the arling of Redcliffe.

Vivienne: We believe it’s in the Dales near Halamshiral.

Vivienne: It’s suspected to be hidden in the Western Approach.

Vivienne: It’s somewhere in the Nahashin Marshes.

Vivienne: I’ll send the location to the war room.

Vivienne: If the Inquisition is willing to help us retrieve these phylacteries, the Circle of Magi would be most grateful. Vivienne: If you’re willing to assist us again, my dear, the Circle would be most grateful.

Dialogue options:

Investigate: What’s a phylactery?

Investigate: What will you do with them?

General: I’ll do it.

General: Not this time.

Investigate: What’s a phylactery? PC: What are phylacteries?

Vivienne (human mage PC): Did no one tell you? Some of your blood was taken when you first came to the Circle. When you passed your Harrowing, the templars took it from your tower to a secret location of their own. If you had ever fled the Circle, they would have used it to track you.

Vivienne: They are amulets containing the blood of Circle mages. Everyone who belonged to a Circle has one. The templars use them to track mages who flee or go missing. Now, with so many of the templars working for Corypheus or hunting mages for sport, the phylacteries are a risk to us all.

Investigate: What will you do with them? PC: What do you intend to do with the phylacteries?

Vivienne: If nothing else, they must be kept out of the red templars’ hands… or many innocent mages will die.

Vivienne: I thought I might put them all in a big pile and jump into it. PC: Really? Vivienne: No.

Vivienne: They are the best chance we have of finding Circle mages alive. And I prefer to find them quickly to make sure they remain that way.

Dialogue options:

General: I’ll do it. PC: Leave it to me. Vivienne: Thank you my dear. I’ll leave this matter in your capable hands. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: Not this time. PC: I don’t think so. Vivienne: As you wish. ㅤㅤ ㅤ After returning:

General: It’s done. PC: Your phylacteries have been recovered. PC: Your little problem has been taken care of.

[majokkid]

Engaging the Doppel as Shadow Work

The work I am presenting here is not a replacement for therapeutic practices administered or recommended by a professional. If you do not have any previous experience with Shadow Work, I urge you to have a conversation with a professional, such as a therapist, or a trusted and seasoned practitioner and decide whether or not it would be most beneficial to do this work on your own. I would also strongly advise any magical hero to have a strong foundation in grounding and shielding practices before engaging in any Shadow Work.

In the mobile game Puella Magi Madoka Magia Side Story: Magia Record we are introduced to the concept of the Doppel. According to the official Magia Record website, "Magical Girls in Kamihama City can summon a power known as a Doppel. Only awakened Magical Girls have this ability, which allows them to invoke a portion of the Witch power in their Soul Gem when it becomes fully tainted."

In the Puella Magi Madoka Magia universe, a magical girl typically becomes a Witch when their Soul Gem turns completely black from developing too many impurities. When they use their magic, experience strong negative emotions, or sustain physical injuries, the magical girl’s Soul Gem gathers impurities and becomes progressively darker. Generally, the way to rid a Soul Gem of its darkness is to extract it with a Grief Seed or Grief Cube but inside of Kamihama City, however, the ‘Doppel’ power can be invoked instead.

If a Doppel is summoned, a subconscious confrontation occurs between the magical girl and their Witch self, in which the Witch attempts to convince the girl to give in to their inner darkness and relinquish control. Usually, the Doppel user will reject their inner darkness and the Doppel will be semi-autonomous; but by fully accepting their flaws and achieving a catharsis, a fusion referred to as a Doppel Version can be achieved in which the user is fully in control of their Doppel powers.

Doppels are extremely powerful, making them useful in battle, but come at high risk to its user. This transformation is only possible because of the trauma a magical girl is forced to endure, whether as a consequence of their wish to an Incubator or by merely existing. Most of the time, we need to suppress our traumas and anxieties just to get through the day but the Doppel System is a stark reminder that we can become over-encumbered at any moment. (Not to mention that in its semi-autonomous state, the Doppel will thrash about and attack without abandon, potentially causing serious harm to its magical girl and those around them.)

So, as magicians and magical heroes, how can we utilize the Doppel System in a healthy and constructive way? How can we harness the power of meeting our inner darkness and bringing it out for good? The most obvious, and arguably most difficult, method I can think of is engaging in Shadow Work.

The goal of Shadow Work is to bring suppressed personality parts back into our consciousness and learn to accept and even love them. This is easier said than done, as Shadow Work forces us to confront parts of ourselves that we rather not know about and then actually take responsibility for that which we judge in ourselves and others. Like the Doppel System, Shadow Work asserts that the solution lies not in the permanent avoidance of our darkened soul parts, but in their full acceptance and approval.

Shadow Work a process of acknowledging the ‘ugly’ parts of ourselves and learning to love them despite our judgements or fear of them. Our shadow parts can look like many things in our conscious lives including:

Jealousy

Addiction

Depression

Anxiety

Codependency

Self-sabotage

Excuses

Lies

Procrastination

Resentment

Passive-aggressiveness

Bitterness

Aggression or Anger

Violence

Victimization 

Guilt and shame

Lack of confidence

Issues establishing or maintaining boundaries

Shadow Work is also trauma work; many shadows are created as a result of developmental or attachment trauma when we were children and didn’t have the resources to deal with our emotions fully and so are stored in our bodies and in the stories we tell ourselves. Your shadow can control your life and will keep presenting you with uncomfortable opportunities to integrate it, as Witches and the Doppel System threaten to do.

As our shadows form and present themselves in different ways, there is no set approach for dealing with them. Shadow Work can be practiced by:

Self-observation and mindfulness Practice being present and conscious of your reactions. Identify your triggers; when your reaction to an event or someone’s behavior is out of proportion it is usually rooted in your past and in your shadow.

Practicing emotional inquiry Develop a sense of curiosity for your inner emotional world and view your emotions as information.

Journalling Start with a prompt that forces you to identify parts of your shadow or go with a stream of consciousness.

Analyzing your favorite stories Make a list of your favorite media and jot down their rough storyline. Think about the characteristics of your heroes and how they might relate to you, your unfulfilled potential, or secret desires. This is an intuitive way to explore your shadows by looking for symbols and archetypes in the stories you resonate with most.

Sitting with your shadow in meditation Learn to sit with yourself in silence. Just being able to be with yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings is a powerful way to get in touch with your shadow parts and sit with your emotions.

Inner-child work Since most of our shadows are created during childhood development, there is a lot of potential here for healing and integration. There are many guided meditations out there that can help get you started on this particular journey.

Seeking therapy and/or coaching

By working in these ways, we can essentially tap into the Doppel System and achieve untapped magical potential by integrating and purifying our shadows.

This post is part of my Magi Praxis series. If you have any suggestions for future topics, or you have attempted anything I have shared and want you share your experiences, please send me a message! I am always happy to go back and provide further explanation as well. ☆

[thepmmmwitchproject]

Magical boy whose a scraggly grown man...

Sharing some of the recent fan magi of mine I've made, starting with my favorite, Del! Del White is a magical boy of American Southeast origin who wished to have everyone he knew to believe he's dead for their safety. For context, Del accidentally comes across a group not unlike the Mikoshiba, forcing others to wish for the group's benefit, and is now being hunted down by the group's attending magi. While being a scaredy cat, he's very protective of others, willing to be risk his life for others. His weapon is a magical noose that's wrapped around his waist (cropped out in his image, due to well, being a noose), and his whole magi theme is of a virginia opossum. I have not planned out his witch form.